[Top 15] FF14 Best Video Settings For Improved Gameplay Experience

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Updated:

21 Apr 2022

Final Fantasy XIV is a rising MMORPG beloved by many gamers out there, both fans of the franchise and the genre. FFXIV’s video settings can affect many things, from gameplay, graphics, HUD to many more. This article will give you tips and tricks upon choosing the best video settings for yourself!

15) Screen Mode

FFXIV's Screen Mode Settings

There are three different screen modes in FFXIV, which are windowed, borderless windowed, and full screen. In FFXIV, the best screen mode a player can choose would undoubtedly be borderless windowed.

The main reason for this is because players can tab in and out of the game if necessary without needing to quit the game. In addition, players would only be able to use most of the add-ons to enhance their gameplay through windowed or borderless windowed screens. However, borderless windowed is a better option than windowed as the screen that the player saw in-game would still be complete, as opposed to windowed.

14) Character Lighting

Character Lighting Setting

Character Lighting is a vital video setting for FFXIV as well. This setting makes your character look brighter, and therefore you can see what your character is doing in the game much more clearly.

30-50 is the sweet range spot for this setting, as players would see their characters enough that it still looks natural. If it is turned up too bright, the characters may look too unnatural and weird.

13) Sound Setting

The Setting for Sounds in FFXIV.

The best sound setting may differ from player to player. However, some specific settings may work better in particular ranges. For example, BGM voice should always be below sound effects and voice. This is because the music in FFXIV can become super loud, and players may miss some voice lines because of the loudness of the background music.

System sounds and ambient sounds should always be lower, as they can be deafening when a player turns on a lot of chat notifications or a large crowd going on in an area.

Lastly, performance sound settings may vary from person to person, as this is how loud a player’s bard performance can sound in the game, and some players may not want to enjoy it at all. In contrast, other players might want to enjoy it for immersive and role-play purposes.

12) Movement Setting

There are two main movement settings in FFXIV.

Legacy movement type is the best choice for movement setting as it allows players to move quickly through every direction. The standard type will force players to walk when they’re walking backward, making it harder to dodge mechanics in more challenging content.

11) Language Setting

There are several language settings in FFXIV.

Players can choose which language they want the cutscenes to be in. As FFXIV is a game with very heavy storytelling, hearing the cutscenes in the preferred language can help make the story feel more immersive and beautiful. This setting’s best choice will depend on each player’s preferences and likings.

10) Cutscene Skipping

Several choices to skip cutscenes.

It is a good idea to check all of these options. The main reason for this is because checking these options will automatically make the player skip any previously viewed cutscenes. It will never skip cutscenes that have never been seen before.

The main reason why a player would want to skip previously viewed cutscenes automatically is that a cutscene will automatically play every time a player enters a dungeon, do specific housing actions, and many others.

Viewing the same cutscenes repeatedly can be tedious, and trying to skip it manually every time can become annoying. This is why checking all the options for cutscene skipping is an ideal choice for players.

9) Tab-targeting FIlter

There are many variations to filter one's tab-targeting system.

FFXIV is a game that implements the tab-targeting system to target your enemies. However, using tab targets can also lock onto allies and other elements, especially outside of combat. To handle this, a player can set which targets they want to lock on, both when the weapon is sheathed and when the weapon is drawn.

It is imperative to filter enemies when the weapon is drawn, making fighting in a dungeon or trial much more accessible. Otherwise, tab-targeting systems can make a player randomly target another party member, forcing them to click the boss and mobs manually to hit them.

8) Battle Effect Settings

There are three options in which a player can see the battle effects.

Battle effects in FFXIV can be very bright and showy, especially for caster classes. While it does not matter much in low-level dungeons and can even be very exciting to see other players’ battle effects for the first time, the excitement would be dimmed when faced with 8-player raids and trials, or even 24 and 48 players content.

With so many players in one instance, showing all battle effects can be very overwhelming, and some players might even miss or get hit by certain AoEs and mechanics as they could not see the boss’ mechanics.

For this reason, setting the party’s battle effect to limited is the best option. This allows the players to see specific battle effects that can help them, such as delayed heals and the area heals animation, like Asylum and Earthly Star while having none of the showy and brightly lit battle animations from 7 other players every few seconds.

Setting limited or no battle effects for other players is the best option for the third one. This is because many players may spam random skill effects in cities and towns, which can make a player’s FPS drop when it becomes too overwhelming.

7) Inventory Settings

Several options for a player's inventory system.

There are three different options in how a player can set their inventories: Normal, Expanded, and Open All. The normal option shows four other windows plus two additional ones for crystals and quest items. As shown in the picture above, the Expanded option allows these four windows to be condensed into two. Lastly, the Open All option crammed all inventory space into one big window, allowing players to see everything in their inventory.

For this reason, the expanded option might be the best option for the players, as it contains the best of both worlds. Players would not have to shuffle through four different windows to find the items necessary in their inventory. At the same time, they also did not have to squint to see all the clumped-up things and miscellanies clumped up in one big window.

The expanded inventory option allows players to only shuffle through two windows and still see each item displayed in their inventory.

6) Clock Type

Several Clock Types in FFXIV.

At the start of the game, a player would only be given the option to see their own local time. However, as players delve deeper into the game, Eorzea Time is an option that is deemed necessary as well.

The main reason for this is because a lot of gameplay may revolve around Eorzea Time. Starting from timed gathering nodes that only allow players to gather specific items in specific Eorzea Time to hunt trains that will tell the players in chat at what Eorzea Time they will start attacking the boss.

Because of this, putting Eorzea Time on display is something important that blooming players need to do.

5) Displaying Party Names

A player can choose how to see theirs and other people's names.

This setting allows a player to control the names of their party members. A big reason this setting is important is that long names can become a hindrance at high-level content. It might be easier to abbreviate them so that their names would not hinder upcoming mechanics and AoE markers.

4) Chat Notification Sounds

A player can choose to be pinged when a chat comes in.

Sometimes, it’s very easy to miss incoming chats, especially when you’re tabbed out from the game, are crafting or gathering, or are currently in a dungeon. This is why turning on notification sound for specific important chats is very important, so there will be a sound notification every time a chat from a particular window comes up.

3) Auto-AFK Setting

Several options in which a player can choose their auto-AFK settings.

FFXIV is a game with a specific icon for players that have gone AFK so that other players will notice that player is in AFK mode and is currently not in the game. FFXIV also has a setting for players to choose a timer related to the auto-AFK setting.

For this reason, a player can choose a short-timer (5m) so that the AFK icon would appear in their character after they’re gone for a short moment. This icon will help notify the players’ friends and acquaintances that the player is currently not available.

2) Display Limits

Several options for character and object quantity in FFXIV.

This setting allows a player to control how many other characters and objects they can see near their environment. This is a perfect setting that can help make a player'splayer's gameplay smoother, especially those that don'tdon't have a high-end PC.

Limiting the characters a player can see to low and minimum can help enhance the gameplay, especially in crowded areas where a player can meet many other characters.

1) Duty Display

Several different options to display duties for players.

Duty display is another name for quest display. This setting will help players to be able to see whether they can see their list of quests they have taken in duties, like dungeons, trials, and raids.

It can be beneficial for players to hide their duty list during instanced duties to focus more on the current content they are doing instead of being distracted by some of the quest lists on display.